Supreme Court to Decide N.R.A.'s Free Speech Battle with New York Official
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case involving the National Rifle Association (NRA) and a former New York state official, Maria Vullo, who encouraged companies to stop doing business with the NRA after the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida. The case raises the question of whether government advocacy can cross the line into coercion and violate the First Amendment. The NRA argues that Vullo's actions leveraged government power in a way that violated free speech rights, while Vullo's lawyers argue that her actions were within her right to express views on a matter of public concern. The Supreme Court's decision could have broad implications for government officials' ability to financially blacklist political opponents.